NAPLES REAL ESTATE VOICE

THE CANADIANS ARE COMING...EH?

Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 1:19pm. 4 Views, 0 Comments.

I have been touting the fact that the Canadians have been flocking to Southwest Florida and the Naples area during the past five or six months in droves and are responsible for a good amount of the sales that have been taking place here. Recent articles have confirmed that fact.

There are several reasons for that fact. First once again, (it was the case last July), the Canadian dollar is almost on par with the U.S. dollar. Second, and equally important, the greater Naples price points across the board are extremely attractive. For years the Canadians have been coming to our area and renting, so they are very familiar with what we have here in terms of value.

Not only are they helping to boost sales and deplete existing inventory, but they are certainly…

SALES CONTINUE THEIR UPWARD TREND

Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 7:47pm. 25 Views, 0 Comments.

NABOR just released their monthly report and statistics the other day and the upward sales trend is continuing. Closed sales are a solid 50% higher than the same period last year, while the inventory has been shrinking by almost 15% per month.An important point is that normally we see an increase in inventory in "season", but this year is totally different with it continuing to decrease.

While the low end of the market ($300,000 and less) has been helping to fuel the fire, a real bright spot has been the fact that we are now seeing strong sales above the $300,000 price point.

Another interesting point is that single family homes have been primarily driving the market during the past year, but recently condominiums have come storming back. Pending…

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY ARM IS ADJUSTING?

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 1:14pm. 137 Views, 0 Comments.

Will Dukes, from Summit Mortgage an affiliate of Downing-Frye Realty, Inc., just put out an interesting article dealing with the ARMs (Adjustible Rate Mortgages) that are ready to adjust. An adjustable rate mortgage is a mortgage loan where the interest rate on the note is periodically adjusted based on a variety of indices.

For those who have an ARM, it is worth the read. 

The 5/1 ARM that my wife and I took out in May of 2005 is now getting ready to adjust according to the terms of the loan. Sound familiar??? Don’t panic yet!

Like a lot of folks, the original equity we put into our home at closing is temporarily depleted leaving us with slightly less than enough to allow a refinance into a 30 year fixed without mortgage insurance. Our alternatives are to…

CHINESE DRYWALL HAS BECOME A MAJOR ISSUE

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 9:29am. 147 Views, 0 Comments.

Chinese drywall issues have become a real concern in homes and condominiums that were built or remodeled between 2001 and 2008 all around the country. The source of the concern is the outgassing or vapor emissions of some of the chemical compounds that could pose as a health hazzard, not to mention the corrosion of wiring and destruction of appliances and air conditioning systems.

Initially it was thought that the problem existed only in three state, Florida, Louisana and Virginia. As it turns out, 30 other states have now identified the problem and there may be more as well.

If you suspect that you might have a problem, it will require a two-step process. First the drywall would need to be visually inspected to check for corrosion of metal or the blackening…

NAPLES FEATURED ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 11:35am. 112 Views, 0 Comments.

The other day Good Morning America featured Naples as one of the most undervalued areas for real estate in the country. As a matter of fact, Naples ranks as the 15th most undervalued areas according to a recent article published by CNNMoney.

What make it all the more interesting is the fact that a few short years ago, 4 to be exact in 2006, Naples ranked as the most overvalued area of the country. Back then, realtors and others cried unfair citing skewed financial information.

Well now the additional publicity should work quite favorably. That coupled with the fact the inventory is decreasing by almost 14% a monthshould help to get potential buyers off the fence and purchasing for fear that property values will undoubtedly rise.

Find the article HERE.

HUGE SPREAD BETWEEN 15-YEAR AND 30-YEAR FIXED RATE MORTGAGES.

Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 8:26am. 64 Views, 0 Comments.

Will Dukes from Summit Mortgage at Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. wrote a recent article about the spread between the 15-year and 30-year fixed rate mortgages and I found his comments quite interesting.

Will basicallty stated that it may well be time to consider a 15-year fixed rate mortgage because the relative discount for reducing the repayment period compared to a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is enormous. Investors are now giving the borrowers a big advantage if they are willing to lock in to a shorter period of time. The discount can run between 1/2 to 3/4 of a point, which again is quite significant. Spreads like this have not been seen since 2004.

One of the keys is not to formulate a strategy until you are absolutely ready to purchase a home because the…

THE EXPANDED HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT

Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 6:33pm. 246 Views, 0 Comments.

The Homebuyer Tax Credit has created a lot of buzz since becomming law and now the extended or Expanded Tax Credit could help to cure the winter blues for many first time home buyers.

Ken Trepeta the Director of Real Estate Services at RISMEDIA, the leader in real estate information systems, yesterday wrote a very informative article detailing the expanded home buyer tax credit. For those considering buying a home for the first time, it is well worth investigating, but time is of the essence because a binding contract must be written by 30 April, 2010 and it must be closed by 1 July, 2010.

The article can be found by clicking HERE.

SALES CONTINUE TO SURGE

Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 6:52pm. 183 Views, 0 Comments.

The Fall sales Market Data Report showed a surge in sales from the same period one year ago that is continuing as we begin to get into 'high season'.

Overall pending sales showed an increase of over 100% again compared to the same period last year. Leading the way, as it has for many months was the $300,00 and under segment of the market. Yet from $300,000 to $500,000 sales increased by 150%. The available inventory showed a decrease of 14% and moved under the 10,000 level, something not seen in several years.

The market is driven by savy buyers moving back in, as well as the fact that the sellers realize that the only way that their properties will sell is if they aggresively price them at or below current market values.

To see the current Market Data…

MAKING FLORIDA YOUR DOMICILE

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at 8:40pm. 132 Views, 0 Comments.

Depending on the state you are from and if you own a second property in Naples, Florida, it might be well worth investigating the possibility of establishing your domicile in Florida for the purpose of reducing or totally eliminating income and estate taxes. Enhancing that position, the State of Florida has eliminated the Florida estate tax and repealed the intangible tax on stocks and bonds.

Retirees who have substantial securities portfolios have benefited from the 15% income tax on capital gains, as well as stock dividends. To contrast that, if you were living in the State of New York, both dividends and capital gains are subject to as high as a 7% income tax. The failure of a state like New York to give relief to its wealthier investors has forced many…

THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS: ALTERNATIVES AND CONSEQUENCES

Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 12:44pm. 250 Views, 0 Comments.

Will Dukes from our own Summit Mortgage Company here in Naples, sent an email around to real estate agents about foreclosures, short sales and deeds-in-lieu. His email included an article written by a prominent Naples attorney on the subject.

There has been much written about the three different subjects, and yet many of the buyers and sellers still know little about the process. As a realtor, I feel that the more we can help to educate the potential customers that are interested in the subject, the better off we will be.

The article will have blue highlighted areas that were added by Will Dukes.

You can view the articlke HERE.